Castle Break

Cute game, gateway from beer and pretzels. Would work for younger kids as well.

We had a lot of fun playing this with Spencer and Maria at the Raleigh Playthrough Convention. It was super easy to pick up, and so much fun to play! There is definitely strategy involved, but it's definitely easy enough that a family with kids could play. I do think an expansion for added difficulty would sell well to more experienced gamers - like power cards that steal coins, so there's a different strategy to trying to get your keys one at a time or something. And I definitely think the "quick version" we played needs its own section on the instructions! Super fun, definitely recommend for your game collection!!

Fun strategy game with a nice mix of strategic and luck mechanics. Easy to learn and well paced game.

Fun well paced game with interesting card mechanics. It's pretty easy to pick up for beginners. I wish the end phase was a bit more challenging to unlock, but overall a fun time.

Today I had the pleasure of playing Castle Break at Playthrough, a NC-based gaming convention, with one of its designers. It's so fun! It's a light, strategic game in which players race to find items and treasure. But they're not searching for treasure out of greed: they're trying to free a dragon that's being held captive in the castle dungeon, and they need to melt the gold down into keys. The first player to collect enough treasure (by completing quests), melt them down into keys, and use the keys to break the dragon free, is the winner.

The mechanics are simple and easy to learn. Players can hold six cards in their hands. Any additional cards they have are placed face-up in front of them. During their turn, players can move, swap cards in and out of their hand from the face-up cards, steal a face-up card from another player, or complete a quest if they've met the objective. Players can also introduce an element of "take that!" into the game by playing power cards, allowing them to move other players against their will, teleport themselves across the board, force a player to lose a turn, etc.

Once the keys are forged, play switches to a "push your luck" endgame, in which players must roll a green side on a particular die. If you do, you unlock one of the locks holding the dragon prisoner, and you can make another roll. But if you roll a red side, your turn is over.

This is a game that could truly be enjoyed by the entire family. It can be learned in five minutes, but has enough strategy and replay value that it's not boring.

Played this game at Playthrough convention in Raleigh and it was an absolute blast! The walkthrough was very straightforward and easy to understand and it was very well balanced. I thought I was very far ahead and then my other two opponents caught up at the end. A ton of fun and highly recommend this game. Thanks for teaching us Carly!!

Overly simple game, with little player interaction. Feels like you're basically playing on your own, with minor exceptions.

Ideal for younger, or people newer to games due to the very simple mechanics.